Look up!
We often use the word “navigate” in a figurative sense. We want children to learn this or that in order to navigate the world better. What about learning (and teaching) to actually navigate the world?
Why is Venus called the morning star? Why are the words for south and lunch the same in some languages? And where is south anyway? We have forgotten many things and lost many skills, including the ability to find our way.
In The Lost Art of Finding Your Way (Harvard University Press, 2013), Professor John Edward Huth reminds us of the deep connection we used to have (some people still do) with the sky and the environment, and how that ability to read the elements and the stars allowed our ancestors to make very long journeys. This is a very inspiring (and very useful) book, a mix of practical survival guide, history of navigation, science of orientation, and an account of how deeply intertwined navigation is with human culture and language.
There is a map out there, and we have many traveling companions, we just need to look up and around.
